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Article 2 - Organization

Last Revised October 04, 2021

Section 1. Membership

Staff Council membership shall comprise all University of Arkansas – Fort Smith regular full and part-time employees who are not deans, associate deans, provost, associate/assistant provost, vice chancellor, associate vice chancellor, or members of the Chancellor’s Cabinet, or the Faculty Council.

Section 2. Staff Senate

A. Staff Senate shall comprise elected representatives from each administrative area of the university that reports directly to the Chancellor. Break down of representation shall be as follows:

Employees/Colleges

Representatives per Component

40 or fewer

1

41 - 70 Employees

2

71+ Employees

3

Academic Colleges

One Representative/College

Areas with ten or fewer employees will be grouped with the next smallest administrative area for election purposes.

The total membership of the Staff Senate shall be the elected representatives and the elected, at large, officers.

Officers will be elected at large. Elected officers will include the Chair, Past-Chair, Chair-Elect, and Secretary. The Chair serves for three years:  Chair-Elect, in the first year; Chair in the second year; and Past-Chair in the third year.)  The Committee shall have the authority to make recommendations to the University Administration on all matters of concern to staff.

B. The Faculty Senate Chair, Chancellor’s Chief of Staff, and Student Government Association leadership may be invited to any USC or Staff Senate meeting by the Staff Senate Chair as deemed appropriate.

Section 3. Duties of Elected Representatives

A. The duties of the Chair shall be:

  1. Maintain communication with Chancellor/university administration to facilitate the exchange of information.
  2. Represent the USC in university decision making
  3. Preside at all meetings of the USC and the Staff Senate
  4. Manage the Staff Senate budget as allocated by the university
  5. Call meetings when necessary.
  6. Mentor Chair-Elect to provide continuity.
  7. Appoint staff to committees as needed.
  8. Other duties as assigned by the Chancellor’s Office

B. The duties of the Chair-Elect shall be:

  1. Attend to the duties of the Chair in their absence.
  2. Attend all meetings of the USC and Staff Senate.
  3. Fulfill whatever other duties the Chair may vest in the office.
  4. Keep and maintain committee member and volunteer lists.
  5. Responsible for overseeing committee work and managing committee chairs. The Chair-Elect may assign committees tasks and projects and call for committee reports when necessary.

C. The duties of the Secretary shall be to:

  1. Attend all meetings of the USC and the Staff Senate.
  2. Accurately record, publish, and maintain minutes of the USC and Staff Senate meetings.
  3. Keep records of past minutes and all motions and resolutions passed by the USC and Staff Senate.
  4. Assist the Chair with all communication to staff members
  5. Chair the Awards committee & facilitate the Lucille Speakman nominations and award process.

D. The duties of the Past-Chair shall be to:

  1. Attend all meetings of the USC and the Staff Senate.
  2. Serve as Parliamentarian.
  3. Conduct the Nominations & Elections process
  4. Serve as a mentor to the Chair and Chair-elect

E. The duties of the Elected Representatives shall be to:

  1. Serve as liaison between Staff Senate and area from which elected.
  2. Attend all meetings of the USC and Staff Senate
  3. Chair or Co-Chair Staff Senate standing committees
  4. Serve on University committees, task forces, and search committees on behalf of the Staff Senate, as appointed by the Staff Senate officer

Section 4. Experience

Staff Senate shall consist of full-time regular employees who are members of the USC, with a minimum of six (6) months of experience at the university. The experience requirement may be waived with a simple majority vote of the Staff Senate if it is determined that this provision would deprive proper representation of staff of the university.

Section 5. Term of Office

Terms shall be:

The Chair-Elect will be elected and serve a term of three years. The term will consist of three roles rotating from Chair-Elect, Chair, and Past-Chair.

  1. Chair-Elect - One Year. (Initial Elected position)

  2. Chair- - One Year.

  3. Past-Chair - One Year.

  4. Secretary – Two Years.

  5. Elected Representatives – Two Year.

    Members will be elected for two-year terms. For the first term (2022-2023), functional areas will elect one member for a one-year term and another for a two-year term to begin the rotation. Beginning in 2023-2024, all representatives will be elected to two-year terms. Elected representatives may only serve three consecutive terms and then must wait for two years before being eligible for re-election.

Section 6. Nominations and Elections

The nomination and election of officers and representatives should occur during the months of May/June, with those elected assuming office in July. The Past-Chair shall conduct the nomination and election process. The call for nominations should occur annually in May. Elections should begin the first week of June and be open for ten business days. The results of the elections should be announced before July 1.

Section 7. Vacancy

  1. Officer  Officers of the Staff Senate are the Chair-Elect, Chair, Past-Chair, and Secretary.
    1. If the Past-Chair position becomes vacant for any reason, the remaining officers will appoint to fill this role.
    2. If the Chair position is vacated, the Chair-Elect shall assume the role of Chair immediately upon the vacancy.
    3. If the Chair-Elect position is vacant, the Staff Senate shall conduct a call for nominations and hold a special election immediately upon vacancy.
    4. If the Secretary position is vacant, the Past-Chair shall appoint an individual to fill the vacancy within 30 days. If the Past-Chair vacates the position, the Chair will appoint an individual to fill the vacancy within 30 days. All appointments shall require majority approval from the Staff Senate and shall serve until the next regular election.

  2. Representative - If any representative position becomes vacant for any reason, such as the staff member moving to a new UAFS position and functional area or leaving their role at UAFS, the Staff Senate Chair will conduct a special election within 30 days of the vacancy to elect a new representative. The new Representative shall serve until the next regular election. If the vacancy occurs within six months of the next regular election, the position shall be filled by an appointment of the Staff Senate Chair and approved by the Staff Senate.